General 1. What is Concur Travel? Concur Travel is a hosted, web-based system that allows users to book travel using a web browser or mobile device instead of booking travel through a travel agent. Concur Travel also provides users with on-line access to information on booked travel. 2. Do I have to use Concur Travel? It is strongly encouraged to use Concur Travel. This online travel booking tool reduces Alliant Energy s travel costs and offers employees more independence while booking trips yet still leverages the value inherent in a thirdparty travel management partner. 3. Why should I use Concur Travel? The online travel reservation system is very similar to typical online travel reservation systems but Alliant Energy corporate travel procedures, preferred vendors and negotiated rates are configured in the tool. The Concur mobile app is also available. With Concur, you ll no longer have fees for booking hotel and rental cars for business travel, meaning fewer expenses to keep track of and record on your expense report. 4. What if I do not have time to book through Concur Travel? If you do you not have time to book your travel online you may still submit your request through the Travel Request Form found on The Compass Travel page. Note: agent fees will be charged! 5. How do I log in to Concur Travel? Visit www.concursolutions.com or the link is available on the Travel page of the Compass. 6. What is my user ID for Concur Travel? The login ID is your Alliant Energy e-mail address. 7. I forgot my login ID or password, what do I do? You can use the Forgot Your User Name or Forgot Your Password links provided on the main login page or you can contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited to assist. 8. Why is my Date of Birth required if I am just booking car and/or hotel? Concur has several required fields contained within the online profile and while birthdate is only required for airline reservations, the same traveler profile is utilized regardless of what is being reserved. 9. Why is my corporate credit card not in Concur Travel? Your corporate credit card will not appear in your profile if we do not have your date of birth and/or a middle name in your profile. 10. What do I need to do if my credit card has expired or the number has changed? If your credit card or your traveler's card has changed in any way, you will need to go online in your Concur Travel profile to update the card as soon as possible. This will ensure that any future reservations made online or with an agent have access to the correct card.
11. Is there a mobile app? Yes. Concur Mobile is available for Blackberry, iphone, and Android devices. 12. Will I have access to make reservations with all airlines, rental cars and hotels? Yes. Concur offers the same inventory (Global Distribution System) as all of the airlines, rental cars, hotels and other travel agencies or travel systems offer. The advantage that Concur offers is they partner with Air Canada and Southwest Airlines as well as some parking facilities and private car/taxi services so their inventory is more complete than any others. 13. Do I need to add my email at the end of the reservation to receive a copy of my trip? No. Your ticketed/invoiced itinerary will be sent to whoever is identified in your online profile as okay to receive the communication from Destinations Unlimited. The field displayed at the end of your reservation process is there to allow you to forward your trip to any other address not listed in your online profile. 14. What if I need to change existing reservations? Car and hotel reservations made in Concur can be edited online. However, any air changes require you to contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited at 319-393-1359 M-F 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Central. 15. What if I book something in error through Concur Travel? If you have accidentally booked something wrong, please reach out to the travel agency team immediately to request they correct the issue. Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited can be reached at 319-393-1359 M-F 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Central. 16. On what browsers can Concur be used? Internet Explorer 11.0 is fully supported by Concur and is the recommended browser when using Concur. Firefox 50.0, 51.0, 52.0; Google Chrome 55.0, 56.0 and 57.0; Safari 10.0, 9.0, 8.0 and 7.0. Concur Technologies is only able to provide support for those listed above. For an updated, complete listing visit: http://www.concurtraining.com/customers/tech_pubs/docs/z_suppconfig/supported_configurations_for_concu r_travel_and_expense_client-facing.pdf 17. How can I check the status of the system if I encounter an error when working in Concur? Concur Open Dashboard http://open.concur.com/ provides a glimpse at system outages & interruptions. 18. What happens if I need help with Concur? You may contact the team at Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited via phone (319-393-1359) or via e-mail at: online@duagency.com. You may also contact Carrie Mick, Corporate Travel Program Manager.
Travel Planners / Coordinators Concur Travel FAQs 1. Will someone else be able to make my travel arrangements for me? Yes. You can assign access in your profile to as many travel arrangers as needed. The implementation of Concur Travel should have no effect on who makes your travel arrangements. Go to your Profile and either scroll to the page to the Assistants and Travel Arrangers box, or click Setup Travel Assistants under Profile Options. Click Add an Assistant to add the person who you would like to authorize to book your travel. This person can update your profile and make any travel arrangements for you. Arrangers or assistants must have their own login. 2. How should travel for guests or non-employees be handled? Travel for all non-employees, if you have been provided with rights in the online tool, can be done by utilizing the Book for Guest link found on the main search page above the search criteria boxes. Otherwise, you can contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited to make arrangements. The Guest Booking option should not be used for employees. 3. Can I book a traveling companion with my business trip on Concur? If you would like to book an airline ticket for a traveling companion to accompany you on a business trip, please book them as a guest or contact Destinations Unlimited to coordinate. 4. Why does the system stop me from booking for another traveler and refer to my own online profile? Concur is validating that all individuals involved with the reservation have every required profile field completed. Though you are not booking for yourself, your own online profile needs to be completed per Concur requirements. 5. What if I do not have my traveler's date of birth? In order to complete a trip in Concur, regardless of what you are booking, the date of birth in the traveler's profile is required. Therefore, if you do not have that information, you will need to get it from the traveler. If you are not comfortable obtaining it, then you will need to submit a travel request form to have Destinations Unlimited make the reservation. 6. What if I do not have a credit card for my traveler? If you do not have a credit card for the traveler you are booking, contact Carrie Mick, Corporate Travel Program Manager for assistance. 7. What should I do if I go on vacation to ensure my traveler's reservations can be managed? If you are going on vacation and have travelers that you book for, you may wish to add your back-up's information into the traveler's online profile (e.g. back-up's email and add them as an assistant). Otherwise, the person covering for you can contact Destinations Unlimited through the current travel request form.
Booking Air Concur Travel FAQs 1. What is the most efficient way to find the best schedule and price? The system is set up to default the results to search by price. If you cannot find the flight you are looking for you can search by schedule which allows you to build your own itinerary. Simply choose the appropriate drop-down before clicking Search on the main Travel center page. Search by Price displays itineraries Concur Travel suggests you take based lowest cost, availability and company policy and may not show you all options or schedules. 2. Will I be able to store frequent flyer or other loyalty program information? Yes, this is done in the online profile within Concur Travel. 3. What if there are no "free" seat assignments available for me to reserve? If there are no available seat assignments on any/all of your desired flights, you can opt to a) choose different flights, b) continue with your purchase and allow the travel agency system to monitor for potential released seats or c) visit the airline's website to purchase seats. 4. Can a premium seat (a seat upgrade on a flight) be booked via Concur? Concur does allow you to select a paid-for seat during the booking process, however, you will have to visit the airline's website within 24 hours to complete payment or the seat will be released. If you select a "preferred" seat that does not require payment, you will be confirmed for that seat when your ticket is purchased so long as your status within the airline frequent flyer program qualifies you for that seat. If you do not qualify, an alternate seat will be assigned by the airline based on the seat preference identified within your Concur online profile. 5. Can I book simple international reservations online? No, all international travel must be booked with Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited directly. This ensures employees are informed of Alliant Energy requirements and guidelines for international travel. 6. Does Concur issue my airline ticket? No, Concur only creates the reservation. Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited actually processes the ticket/invoice to ensure all information is captured for company purposes and quality controls the trip for accuracy. 7. How will I know when my/if my ticket has been issued? You will receive an e-mail directly from Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited which will signify your trip has passed quality control and has been invoiced/ticketed. Keep this e-mail as it contains important information you may need prior to or during travel and for your expense report. Additionally, in your Trip Library on Concur, you will see the status changes from Confirmed to Ticketed (if air is included). 8. How long will it take for my ticket to be processed? Generally, quality control and ticket processing only takes a matter of minutes so long as the system does not encounter any errors. The e-mail provided by Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited is confirmation that your trip has been purchased and ticketing/invoicing has been successfully completed.
9. How are unused tickets tracked? How are they used? When you log into Concur Travel, you should see any unused tickets at the top of the center section on the main welcome page. Additionally, you should see them in the air results grid and in your online profile. If you have an unused ticket, Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited has written custom programming to alert agents to evaluate your trip to see if it qualifies for usage. We make all attempts to utilize unused tickets however we cannot always guarantee it will be used since airline rules vary depending on many different criteria such as pricing, city pairs, date of travel, etc. 10. I am booking a domestic multi-leg trip, not a round trip. Can Concur Travel support that? Yes. You can book up to 6 legs of travel on one reservation in Concur Travel. From the home Travel Center page choose the Multi-Segment option at the top of the air search criteria section. 11. What is the best way to book a trip where more than one employee needs to travel on the same flight? Users can opt to share a trip with another user so they can see/select the same flight and/or hotel arrangements but we advise it's best to send the request to a Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited agent to coordinate all travelers and details. 12. Why do I see lower airfares on other websites than I do in Concur? There may be a number of reasons for this. The most common reason is that the Basic Economy fares offered by the airlines and leisure sites have been blocked in Concur. These fares are very restrictive in that they cannot be reused/changed if your trip is cancelled, there are no seat assignments, and no overhead bin space. Another reason we see fare discrepancies is due to inventory fluctuations timing is everything and inventory availability and costs can change minute by minute. Any questions about fare discrepancies should be reported in detail to Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited at online@duagency.com. Booking Hotels 1. What if I need a conference hotel for a company meeting or industry event? Meetings, both industry and company, generally have hotel rooms blocked at a negotiated rate. These special rates will not appear in Concur Travel and therefore, you should follow the meeting organizer instructions for making reservations. You are able to add the conference hotel information into a pre-existing live air reservation. It is best to book the hotel first direct and then go into Concur to reserve your air and add the hotel via the User Supplied Hotels option. At this time, conference hotels cannot be added in Concur without the existence of an airline reservation. 2. I am flying into one airport but need my car/hotel in a different location. How do I make the request? Do not choose a car/hotel while filling in your cities/dates on the main page. Continue through Concur Travel as if you are just doing an air-only trip. Upon reserving your flight you will be presented with the Travel Details page. From this page you have the option to click on the link to Add Car / Add Hotel or Cancel Car / Cancel Hotel. This will allow you to choose where you want the car/hotel and for how long. 3. Can I add a hotel to an airline reservation after it is booked? Yes. To add or modify your trip, click the name of the trip on the Upcoming Trips section of My Concur and then click Change Trip you will have the option to add a hotel to a pre-existing trip. If you do not add to an existing trip, your itinerary items will not be consolidated into a single itinerary.
4. I have seen Concur not allow the booking of a hotel that requires a deposit. If my trip requires a nonrefundable/non-changeable hotel will this be allowed in the system or will I have to call? If it is "grayed out" in the search results, it will not be allowed in Concur. Alliant Energy does not allow nonrefundable/non-changeable hotels to be confirmed that is why they are grayed out in Concur. If there is no other option, please contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited to book. 5. Why do I see lower hotel rates directly with the hotel chain than I do in Concur? The lower rates are most likely non-refundable/non-cancellable rates. Alliant Energy does not allow nonrefundable/non-cancellable rooms to be booked. Generally those types of rooms run slightly less in cost. However, due to the rigid nature of these room types, most organizations prohibit them to avoid potential needless expense. 6. What if I need to cancel a hotel reservation and it is within the cancellation penalty period? If you need to cancel a hotel and you are within the penalty window defined by the hotel, please contact Destinations Unlimited to assist you. If this happens after-hours, please contact the hotel directly or use the afterhours service noted on your itinerary. Booking Cars 1. I am flying into one airport but need my car/hotel in a different location. How do I make the request? Do not choose a car/hotel while filling in your cities/dates on the main page. Continue through Concur Travel as if you are just doing an air-only trip. Upon reserving your flight you will be presented with the Travel Details page. From this page you have the option to click on the link to Add Car / Add Hotel or Cancel Car / Cancel Hotel. This will allow you to choose where you want the car/hotel and for how long. 2. What if I need to change existing reservations? Car and hotel reservations made in Concur can be edited online. However, any air changes require you to contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited at 319-393-1359 M-F 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Central. 3. Can I add a car to an airline reservation after it is booked? Yes. To add or modify your trip, click the name of the trip on the Upcoming Trips section of My Concur and then click Change Trip you will have the option to add a car to a pre-existing trip. If you do not add to an existing trip, your itinerary items will not be consolidated into a single itinerary which can cause issues. 4. Why do I see two car rental rates for the same vendor? If your organization has a negotiated rate with a rental company, you may see a contracted rate and a published rate for the same car type with the same company. Unless the rate is drastically higher, you should always select the contracted rate as it may include benefits or settings that are pertinent to your organization and only included in that negotiated rate.
Booking Miscellaneous Concur Travel FAQs 1. How do I know if an option is outside of my company's policy? Out of policy options are identified in several ways in Concur Travel. Items that are slightly out of policy and may need additional consideration are noted with a yellow caution sign. If booked, Alliant Energy s Corporate Travel Program Manager will be notified for review. You will be contacted if a change needs to be made. Items that are out of policy are noted with a red sign and are not allowed to book. To identify the reason for the icon, click the icon itself and more details will be provided. 2. How do I pay for my travel arrangements? Your online profile stores whatever corporate or personal credit cards you input. Please be sure to identify a default card for each travel type (air, hotel, etc.). This site is secure and fully encrypted. You will have a choice of which credit card you wish to use when making the reservation. Please confirm all your credit card information is set up in your profile. If the information is missing you will not be able to continue with your reservation. Internet fares require credit card numbers at the point of sale. 3. Will I see a trip booked with an agent in my Trip Library in Concur? Yes. Any trip booked with a Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited agent will be uploaded into Concur overnight. 4. Where can I see my itinerary? Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited will email your final itinerary. In addition, you can view your itinerary from the Trip Library section in Concur. 5. Can I book personal travel reservations in Concur? Yes. Be sure to click personal when starting a reservation. You will be asked to click OK to agree to the service fees associated with personal trips which may differ from service fees associated with business trips.